Grass Valley man arrested for allegedly transporting pot on Amtrak

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GALESBURG, Ill. — A Grass Valley man was arrested after allegedly being found with four 1-gallon bags of marijuana at an Illinois Amtrak depot Friday.

Jeremy Michael Tegen, 26, has been charged with possession of more than 500 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver and possession of more than 500 grams of cannabis.

On Tuesday, his bond was raised from $10,000 to $100,000, and on Wednesday, he had his first appearance in court with a public defender.

Tegen arrived in Galesburg on the California Zephyr train Friday. When questioned by officers, Tegen allegedly admitted to having a small amount of medical marijuana and a California medical card. He allegedly also told police that he had a single piece of drug paraphernalia.

The officer reportedly told him he would only receive a notice to appear in court, provided he had no other contraband in his bag. Tegen consented for his luggage to be searched, but once the search yielded a large glass pipe, he allegedly admitted to having more than personal-use marijuana in his bag.

Four 1-gallon bags allegedly were located, each filled with chocolate as an odor-masking agent. Each of the four bags, which were marked with various brand names, field-tested positive for cannabis.

Officers also uncovered two glass pipes, a one-hitter pipe, an electronic scale, a green metal vial, drug packaging and a vaporizer.

Following his arrest, Tegen told police he thought that if he admitted to having cannabis for personal use, officers wouldn’t search his bag for more drugs, according to a police report.

Tegen told police that this was his 10th trip on the train, but it was the first time he’d brought such a large amount, the report said.

He allegedly added that he intended to sell to a couple of friends in the Quad Cities area and was planning to make up to $5,000 with the high-grade cannabis.

Tegen remains in jail and is scheduled to appear in court Tuesday for his preliminary hearing.